Aussie Govt Considers Public Funds For Obesity Surgery

An Australian parliamentary committee has recommended boosting public funding for obesity surgery to tackle a growing problem which has left nearly two-thirds of the country overweight.

The committee said operations such as lap band surgery -- a reversible procedure to reduce the stomach's capacity -- should be made more widely available to help people with extreme cases of weight gain.

Obesity - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Complications, Treatment
Obesity is a condition where there is excess accumulation of body fat which poses a risk to the health of the individual. It can affect children and adults.

"It's hard to access and we know that there is immediate improvement in obesity when surgery is performed," committee chair Labor MP Steve Georganas said, according to ABC News.

"We're not saying that this is for everyone -- this is only for people who are morbidly obese."

The recommendation was among 20 made by the House of Representatives Health Committee. Georganas said obesity cost the economy eight billion Australian dollars (6.48 billion US) last year.

Quiz on Obesity

“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are”. - Adelle Davis

There are thousands out there battling ‘the bulge’. With childhood obesity on the rise even children are not spared. If your weight issues are threatening to weigh you down learn more about obesity by taking part in this quiz.

Better food labelling and public health campaigns were also suggested as ways to trim the Australian waistline.

Official figures last month showed one-quarter of Australians are obese with another 37 percent classified as overweight.

Bariatric Surgery - Gastric Bypass Procedure
Bariatric surgery gastric bypass (Roux-en Y) is a surgical procedure done to make the stomach smaller to treat severe obesity.

International studies consistently rank Australia among the fattest countries in the world, with the nation's Baker Heart Institute in 2008 suggesting it faced a "fat bomb" outranking even that of the United States.

Source-AFP
LIN

Australia Mulls on Funding for Obesity Surgery: Report
Australia is considering government-funded lap-band surgery to curb rising rates of obesity, it was reported.